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One way to catch criminals is by giving police departments access to red-light camera footage even when a traffic violation isn't involved, according to a nonprofit that argues in favor of the law-enforcement devices.

The National Coalition for Safer Roads, whose stated mission is to "save lives and protect communities by demonstrating how red light safety cameras can improve driver behavior," announced the findings in a new study that contends the cameras can catch criminals guilty of infractions far greater than rolling through a red light. The coalition is funded by American Traffic Solutions, a manufacturer of traffic-control devices such as red-light cameras, so let's just say the researchers' motives might not be entirely altruistic.

According to the nonprofit, 172 local police departments requested 4,262 videos of red-light camera footage between 2011 and 2012. While 46 percent of those videos were used in collision investigations, 5 percent were used in homicide investigations and 10 percent were used in burglary cases.

Disturbingly, not all requests were so cut-and-dry. A full 34 percent of red-light camera footage requests were for "various police investigations," while 5 percent were to meet "miscellaneous county or city needs." Nearly 40 percent of all requests came from Florida.

"Red-light safety cameras bring many benefits to communities – on and off the road," said National Coalition for Safer Roads executive director David Kelly, a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acting administrator under President George W. Bush. "These cameras are proving to be a useful tool in helping police solve crimes and often times putting guilty criminals behind bars."

That's not the case in every community, however. A 2005 law passed in Washington state bars police from using red-light camera footage for any purpose other than traffic enforcement. And nine states have passed laws prohibiting the installation of red-light cameras altogether.